'The Lone Ranger' trampled at box office by 'Despicable' minions

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer might have done better to star minions in his retelling of the Old West legend "The Lone Ranger," which was beaten badly at the box office by "Despicable Me 2."

Producer Jerry Bruckheimer might have done better to star minions in his retelling of the Old West legend "The Lone Ranger," which was beaten badly at the box office by "Despicable Me 2." (David Horsey / Los Angeles Times)

Judging from last weekend’s showing at the box office, the Lone Ranger may be heading for the last roundup while the zany, slapstick minions in “Despicable Me 2” are showing as much movie star magnetism as, say, Johnny Depp.

The minions and their movie raked in $142.1 million over the extended July 4thweekend while “The Lone Ranger,” with Depp starring as Tonto, came up lame at $48.9 million. That leaves Walt Disney Studios a long way from recouping the $225 million invested in the remake of the venerable masked man story.

The team of producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski and mega-star Depp resurrected the pirate genre in a huge way with their “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. Apparently, they have not done the same for westerns. In fact, the Lone Ranger character – much beloved by older generations of radio and TV fans – may be permanently buried by this box office bomb.